Facets
by Titanic X
Summary: When a new war begins, one ship finds itself teaming up with an unexpected ally, resulting in a conflict that could change the course of the universe forever. Now, the Galactic Empire will witness the United Federation of Planets' true strength as they bring their strength to bear on the tyranny that threatens the entire universe! Let the facets show the way to the light!
1. Meetings

Hello, peeps~! Titanic X here with Ron the True Fan for another fic, and this time, it's a collab! Yep! You heard right! This time, it's a crossover between Star Trek: Online and Star Wars. This one will combine the two into one, and possibly expand as we go on. Now, to get to the story!

* * *

_Titanic X and Ron the True Fan present:_

**STAR WARS: FACETS**

_The Galactic Republic, soon to be the Galactic Empire. Currently at civil war with the Separatists and the regular soldiers. Behind the scenes one mind works to make the war turn in his favor. The Jedi are unaware of their impending fate. The people have no idea as to what's about to come. Only Time can tell which side will win, and so far things are not looking so good for either side. Countless years of war are starting to take their toll, and both parties are only getting more determined to end the war on their terms. But the mind behind the scenes knows that it will only end in his favor._

_And yet…_

_Something is slowly happening. The hands of Fate are churning. A new force is about to make its appearance to turn the war around, and not in the puppet master's favor…_

_Lacking Force abilities, but having an edge in technology and weaponry, this new force will turn the entire war upside down, and perhaps change the Republic for the better._

_Only Time will tell..._

* * *

_The year is 2410 Anno Domini. The United Federation of Planets has finally ended the long and bloody conflict with the Klingon Empire to prepare for the greater threats in the Milky Way: the Borg, the Undine (or Species 8472, depending on who you ask) and the Iconians._

_Both sides strengthen their ties with the Romulan Republic to prepare to face the demons of air and darkness, and develop new technologies to combat the Undine and the Borg._

_But old foes linger, as the Dominion rebuilds its' forces, the Borg continue to force people into their Hive against their will, the Elachi continue to harass the Republic and the dying Romulan Star Empire tries to stay alive by any means necessary._

_Now the Federation, the Klingons and the Romulan Republic_ _are about to get drawn into another war that could change everything...both for themselves and for the galaxy at large._

* * *

**Location: Unknown**

**Time: Unknown**

**Date: Unknown**

* * *

Within darkened chambers, a man paced as he glanced at the monitors showing his troops in motion. His hooded cloak kept his face hidden, but if one were in the room, they would get a feeling of unimaginable power coming off this man. He stopped pacing and turned to face the shadows as a taller, more imposing form stepped out.

"How goes the mission?" he asked.

"It goes well, my Lord," the taller man said as he knelt. "So far no one suspects a thing."

"But that could very well change, you know," the hooded man said simply.

"I am well aware of that," the taller man remarked. His breathing was raspy, as if he had trouble breathing. His helmet glinted in what little light there was, and the black cloak he wore waved about his body as he stood. "And the operation?"

"We'll enact it when the time is right, my apprentice," the cloaked man said as he placed a withered looking hand on his apprentice's shoulder.

Suddenly, he tensed as he spun, feeling the Dark Side reaching out to him and granting him a vision of the future. His mind vanished from the real world into the misty vision, and he was surprised at what he saw.

A strange object was coming out of nowhere, but that was all he saw before the vision shifted, showing a mysterious symbol. All he could make out was a globe with something around it before it faded. A battle was shown in his mind's eye and he could see a whole fleet attacking his vast Imperial armada, and not just doing that, but inflicting massive damage to it. The vision that changed once more, this time revealing something truly astounding. More ships, mixed in with them, were attacking his Imperial Capital. The scene then blurred and he was shown the forces on the ground. Most of them were humans, but he could make out other aliens with them as well, and among them were…

_Jedi!_

One of them looked his way and their eyes widened before the vision abruptly ended, and he was back in his chambers, panting visibly as he felt his heart racing in his thin chest. "What...What in the name of the Force was that?" he whispered.

He had no idea, but it seemed to be significant.

He turned back to his worried apprentice. "Is everything all right, Master?" he asked.

"Everything is fine, my apprentice," the hooded man assured him. "Just prepare for the next attack. We are about to begin our next phase."

"Understood, Master," the masked man said.

As he left, the hooded man pondered his vision, and what it meant.

Of course, the future was not set in stone, but something told him to be ready.

Who knew what the future held...

* * *

**Orbit over Yavin 4**

* * *

_'This day is really beginning to suck!_' Jessica Miller thought as she flipped her ship over onto its back and fired off a barrage of missiles that hit the Separatist ship in the engines and blew it up. She turned her vessel around and sped off, engaging cloaking and firing off a barrage of lasers at the same time, taking out another one. Her eyes hardened as she darted past the wreckage as more ships chased after. "Why in the world they had to attack is well beyond me!" she muttered.

She turned and fired off more lasers, hitting another vessel, but the pilot had thrown up the shields and the lasers went every which way. She muttered a string of curses under her breath and sped past the attacking fighter, relying on her speed and agility to dodge more laser fire. Jessica's eyes hardened even more as she clenched the control stick and glanced at a small photo of her and her family back on her home world. After that attack, her parents and sister had moved to another world out of the range of fighting, but it could only last for so long.

And she had to keep herself safe at all times if she was to make it back alive like she had promised them.

She felt the vessel shudder as if in response to her will and she smiled. Those fighters were not going to stop her, no matter what they tried!

The human spun her ship around and fled past a few more vessels as they decloaked. "I don't think so!" she shouted.

But what decloaked last was a surprise to her.

It was a ship, that much she knew. Yet it was of a strange origin and design. She didn't know what to make of it, to be honest. But something told her that she had to avoid it.

She didn't heed that warning until it fired at her. She yelped and flipped her ship out of the way with a deft hand, relying on her incredible reflexes honed over five years of fighting in space battles. Her reaction time was practically inhuman, and she was using that to great effect as the unknown vessel fired a barrage of lasers at her that nearly took off the wings and rudders. She darted past it, firing off some lasers, but it didn't do much to the shields. Her eyes widened as she studied the readout in shock.

"No way…! My lasers had no effect on its shielding whatsoever?" she whispered.

The alarm suddenly blared and she dove, her ship barely avoiding a Separatist fighter attacking her from the rear.

"Damn! Not good!" she muttered.

Even she knew that her skills were no match for this thing!

She closed her eyes and began to pray.

As luck would have it, at that very moment, Fate heard her cry, and it happened.

A new ship was about to make its entrance, and the war would never be the same since!

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

* * *

_Captain's Log, USS Ra-Cailum, Stardate 87005.7: The Ra-Cailum is on her way to the Hobus system on orders from Starfleet Command. Why we're heading for Hobus is beyond me: the system was sealed off after the supernova, and there's not much left there now. Regardless, we're armed and ready for an encounter with the Romulans, should any of Taris' forces remain behind. At least now that the war's over, we should be getting on the right track._

The _Sovereign_-Class USS _Ra-Cailum_ dropped out of warp near the nearly destroyed Hobus system. Only a few fragments of planetoid remained after the nova that destroyed Romulus and Remus, so the system wasn't important anymore. Still, they had orders to head to Hobus, and they were doing just that. "Status?"

"ETA to Hobus is 4 minutes, Captain."

Ronald Pinkerton, wearing the older 2373-84 era Starfleet uniform (the newer ones looked ridiculous) tugged down his gray and black outer jacket, smoothing it out. "Keep us at yellow alert and tell those Peregrine pilots to stand by."

Lieutenant Asuka Isanami, the _Ra-Cailum_'s helmsman, nodded as she guided the 685-meter long starship toward the system that changed everything in the Alpha Quadrant.

"I'm going to my ready room: Command had better have a good explanation what the hell we're doing here." He marched into his ready room, planting himself into his chair. "Computer, play recording, authorization Pinkerton 8-6-Alpha-Sigma."

The face of Admiral T'Nae appeared on the monitor screen. "_Captain, you have been sent to the Hobus system because we have detected chronometric particles and a subspace rift there. I do not need to inform you of the dangers of this, Captain. T'Nae out_."

The screen changed to show the emblem of the United Federation of Planets before fading. "Wonderful." He got up and marched out of his ready room, a sour look on his face.

"I take it that the assignment isn't exactly good news?" Asuka asked as she looked at him.

"Possible evidence of time travel. And that's never a good thing," Ron said.

The Ra-Cailum glided into the system, and directly in front of the ship was a kind of pale yellow hole in space. "Ok, that's new. Sensors?"

T'Lan, the ship's Vulcan science officer, glanced at the console as she began scanning. "It is nothing we have encountered before in Starfleet's history, Captain. And-" The tactical console began beeping out a warning.

Lieutenant Barry LeVar checked the console as to what was going on. "Sir, I'm picking up a distress call-several, in fact-from the other side of the rift." Ron sighed. cursing Starfleet protocols concerning distress calls.

"I hate protocol. All hands, go to red alert and prepare for rescue operations! Asuka, take us into the rift. Berry, launch a message buoy informing Starfleet of the situation!"

"Done, sir!" Ron marched back to his chair.

"Take us in, Asuka." Asuka's hands tapped on the controls, guiding the Ra-Cailum into the rift.

* * *

**On the other side**

* * *

Jessica was trying her damn hardest to stay alive, but that was easier said than done as she flipped her ship upside down. The alarm blared as her ship's sensors picked up an incoming signal. "Please… let it be someone who can help!" she pleaded.

The wormhole opened up just as she dodged a barrage of fire from the larger Separatist vessel, but barely.

The vessel that came out was of a far different design, having what appeared to be a saucer attached to a pair of long engine nacelles of some kind, and on its front was wording, but she had no idea what it meant, let alone even cared at the moment. All that mattered was whether it heard the signal she sent out, and if it was friendly.

Her hopes were answered as the newcomer opened up on the unknown vessel, its lasers firing at the Separatist ship, hitting its shields.

The turbolaser bolts seemed to impact the shields further out then she would've thought, and didn't seem to weaken the shields at all.

* * *

**USS _Ra-Cailum_ - Bridge**

* * *

"Damage to shields is negligible: it's like they're using x-ray lasers or something."

"In a way, they are: they seem to be hybridized plasma/ion bolts with a laser-based core. The navigational shields are stripping the core away, limiting their damage potential greatly."

Ron summed the weapons up in two words. "Antique disruptors."

"VERY antique: the laser core was replaced with a nadion particle-based one less than 50 years after the technology was developed."

"Guess they didn't get the memo." The ship continued to spew bolts at the ship, but they were doing little to no damage to the shields. "Captain, shields are dropping to 99.8%. We could do this all day."

"Yes, but then I'd get a headache. Lock phasers on whatever counts at an energizer coil on that thing and knock out its' weapons!" Ron barked.

"Locking phasers. Firing!" Energy surged through the dorsal phaser array on the saucer section at opposite ends before meeting and sending an orange beam of nadion particle energy toward the roughly triangular-shaped ship, punching through the hull and hitting a major power conduit, causing a massive explosion that ripped through the ship, creating a massive hole in it.

"Barry, are you drunk or something?" Ron asked in exasperation.

"No, boss: I targeted what looked to be an energizer coil and fired."

The console sent out another warning. "Sir, a flight of...I think they're fighters is inbound."

Ron sighed as he thought about it. Whoever these people were, they used primitive weapons by 25th Century standards. If anti-ship weapons couldn't do a damn thing, what made them think fighters would be any better?

* * *

**With Jessica**

* * *

Her eyes were wide as the ship opened fire on the fighters, wiping out a few, but the rest dodged and fired back. The shields were taking what appeared to be no damage, and the ship was just wiping the floor with these guys!

Four exploded as they were hit by orange energy beams and two were clipped in the wings as they careened out of control and collided, exploding into pieces. The rest chose to bail out of there by fleeing as fast as they could, but one more got hit by a parting shot from the other vessel before exploding.

She was stunned. What in the world was that ship?

Her fighter shook as a bright light enveloped her ship, and suddenly she was no longer in space, but in some kind of hanger. "Hey! Can you understand me?"

She opened her eyes, and she was surprised to see another human looking at her. "Yeah. Why?" she asked.

"Thank God the universal translators still work. Your craft had an cracked seal: you were starting to lose atmosphere. We decided to beam you on board before you suffocated."

"Thanks," Jessica said as she undid the cockpit straps and opened the cockpit.

She leapt out and landed on her feet. Then she paused. "Wait. 'Beaming?' What are you talking about?" she asked as she looked the woman in the eyes.

"It's-gah, I'll explain later. I'm Commander Sonja Henderson. Welcome aboard the Federation starship Ra-Cailum. Now, I'm going to escort you to the bridge: Captain Pinkerton's going to want to know what the fuck is-"

"_All hands, remain at battle stations: two more vessels detected approaching using something akin to transwarp drive!_"

Jessica blinked at the message. "What's transwarp, and what is the Federation?" she asked as the two made their way out of the hangar.

"Look, I don't have time to give you a complete history lesson, lady. All you need to know right now is that we answered a number of distress calls from the other side of that wormhole and we went through to save your asses." Both women walked into some kind of lift.

"Main bridge," Sonja ordered.

The lift began to rise. "Can you at least tell me where you're from? As in what part of the galaxy?" Jessica asked.

"I was born on Mars colony, in the Sol system."

"Sol?" Jessica cocked an eyebrow.

"It's the solar system that the human homeworld, Earth, is in."

"Earth? Is that where humans originated?" she asked.

Sonja nodded. "Captain Pinkerton's actually from Earth: Kyoto, Japan, although he doesn't look it." The lift arrived at its destination, and the doors opened to allow them access to the bridge.

Jessica was shocked as she stepped into the bridge. "My God…" she breathed. "This is...amazing…!"

"Contacts will arrive in approximately 30 seconds, Captain!" a man manning one of the consoles said.

"Tell Peregrine teams one and two to prepare to launch: I want to focus on those contacts and nothing else."

"Aye, sir," the man replied.

As he finished giving the command, he turned to face the two women.

"Uh…" Jessica was intimidated a bit by his sheer size.

"You must be the pilot we beamed aboard. So, care to tell me what you people dragged my ship into?" he asked.

"Well...I was hoping to get some help…" Jessica squeaked. "But...I didn't expect you to be able to wipe out that Separatist ship so easily…"

"Doesn't help that that ship was over two millennia behind us technologically. Her weapons were nearly useless against our shields and our weapons were practically overkill."

"True. But still. Do you know what's going on here?" Jessica asked. Already her mind was racing as she realized what this meant.

The man shook his head. "No. All we know is that we answered a distress call and ended up in the middle of a battle in what appears to be an alternate universe. I expect a full debriefing as soon as we're done here."

"Ships are dropping out of transwarp, sir!" one of the officers reported.

Jessica glanced at the main screen and her eyes widened. "Oh, shit…!"

The ships were of Separatist origin entirely. And they were bristling with firepower. They were no doubt coming to avenge their fallen comrades.

"Tactical analysis: I want to know what they're capable of."

"Large number of cannon emplacements, but they're of the same type used by that other ship and their shields are extremely weak compared to even a Earth Starfleet ship from the 22nd Century." The man nodded. "Here's hoping they listen to reason."

"I doubt it," Jessica said.

"First tool in a Starfleet captain's gardening box is diplomacy, young lady. Barry, open a channel to the lead ship."

The man at the standing console-now known as Barry-pressed several buttons and a tone was heard. "Channel open, Captain."

"This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton of the United Federation of Planets starship Ra-Cailum. Stand down: I have no desire to get into a firefight with you. I am willing to talk to you if you will let me."

"_I have no idea who you are, but we know you were the ones who took down our comrades' vessel! Plus, we have never even heard of this so-called Federation or whatever you come from! And I know that you happen to have in your custody a young woman who is known around these parts for wiping out any forces that happen to come close!_" a male voice said. "_So, hand her over and we will let you live_!"

"Captain, don't be foolish. Have your science stations run a scan of my ship: you know I outgun you greatly. I do not want more bloodshed. Please, stand down."

"_Fine!_" The comm shut down briefly as they waited.

Jessica was tense, for she knew that even despite their shielding and firepower, there was no way this could stand up to what it was that she had seen a few months ago under construction. And that was why she needed to stay on the move.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the comm came online again.

"_All right! You win this time! But next time, you won't be so lucky!_" the captain of the other vessel snapped.

The man, now known to Jessica as Ronald Pinkerton, nodded. "Glad you saw it my way, sir. I'm more then willing to have you on board as a guest so I-"

The comm was cut and the ships turned around before fleeing to hyperspace.

"I try to be diplomatic, and people keep brushing me off. What the hell is it?"

"People just don't like you before they get to know you," Sonja remarked.

"Bah." He looked at Jessica. "I need to know what the hell's going on, young lady. You'll be briefing me and my senior staff in an hour."

"If you tell me the hell what the Federation is," Jessica said. "Sound good?"

Ron snorted. "I don't need to tell you. All you need to do is sit down at a computer terminal: you can pull up the political and historical information on the UFP almost anywhere on this ship."

"All right." Jessica nodded. "But only if someone can fix my fighter."

"Easily done. Our sensors scanned your shuttle: we can make better replacement parts for it," Sonja remarked.

Jessica whistled in amazement. "You've got powerful sensors for a warship, Captain."

"This isn't a warship. It's a ship of exploration," Ron stated.

"But…" Jessica was shocked. An exploration vessel...that was this armed? There was no way in hell that a ship of this caliber could be an exploration vessel! She staggered back, placing a hand to her head. "Is… That… This is impossible! There is no way this could be a mere exploration vessel!" she replied.

"Well, she is. Well, the _Sovereign_-Class in general was built to explore the outer reaches of known space, but she's well-armed just in case we run into trouble." He walked back to the central chair and sat down. "Better than the _Galaxy_-Class, that's for sure." He glanced at a blue-skinned woman with white hair and a pair of antennae on her head.

"Tarae, escort our friend to guest quarters: make sure she's comfortable during her stay."

Jessica blinked in shock at her appearance, but said nothing, having seen a number of alien species in her travels. The alien woman led her out of the bridge and to the same lift she had used prior.

"Deck 7, guest quarters." The doors closed and the lift started moving. "Uh..." She looked at Jessica. "Yes?"

"What...are you?" the human asked.

"I'm an Andorian," Tarae said.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry," Jessica remarked. "I… I just never saw an alien like you before." She looked back at the lift's door. "A lot of things have happened since I left my home world, and I've been on the move ever since. So...in truth, I don't know if I can trust you guys, even though you saved me."

"Well, you've got nothing to fear as long as you don't try anything to compromise the security of this ship or endanger her crew." The lift stopped and the doors opened, allowing them to exit the lift and walk into a corridor. "There are 32 decks on this ship: 24 primary, 8 secondary and usually unused. She's 685 meters long, capable of a maximum speed of Warp 9.97, and built to survive almost anything the universe can throw at her." Tarae led her to a door, which opened automatically. "Your quarters. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call either me or the Captain: he's a personable man and likes getting to know people. As long as they aren't trying to kill him."

Jessica nodded. "Right. Thanks." She stepped into the room and the door closed shut behind her. She glanced around the room, taking note of the setup and layout. It was a lot better than having to sleep in her fighter, but then again, it did get kind of cramped after a while. She took off her pilot uniform and tossed it onto the bed, stretching.

Underneath her uniform she wore a white tank top that exposed toned arms and a pair of black jeans with combat boots. It felt good to get out of that thing. She headed over to the bed and flopped back onto it, laying her head on the pillow and nearly conking out. She forced herself to stay awake, even though she was tired beyond belief.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten in quite some time. "Great. Where the hell am I going to get something to eat at this hour?" A tone answered her before a voice began to speak. "The replicator can create any foodstuff you request within reason."

She perked up and sat up. "Where's this...replicator...located?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes and looked around the room.

A slot lit up on the far end of the room.

Jessica got off the bed and walked over. "Now how does this thing work?" she wondered as she examined it.

The same voice answered her. "Request an item from the database." A screen above the slot showed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of food items. It was difficult to pick, mostly because she couldn't read a word of it.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied the list. The first thing that came to her mind was a dish she had back on her home world before she left. "Spaghetti and meatballs."

A field of energy appeared within the slot, then a plate full of what she requested appeared inside it, steaming and ready to be devoured.

Her stomach growled again and she grabbed the plate. She walked over to the table and sat down, her eyes landing on some silverware close by. She grabbed them and began to eat. Her mind was flooded with memories of her parents and sister, but she kept herself in check. It didn't take her long to finish and when she was done, she scooted the chair back and stood up. "May as well see what this ship is like."

* * *

**USS _Ra-Cailum_ - Bridge**

* * *

The bridge was a busy place, as crewmen walked from station to station, trying to get their work done and keep operations as smooth as possible. At this moment in time, Ron had ordered them to get a subspace communications link up and sent back through the rift so he could contact Starfleet Command and inform them of the situation. "Sir, the relay has been set up: we're ready to launch the satellite through the rift."

"Send it back via a type-7 shuttle: I don't want it getting damaged on the way through," Ron said.

"Aye, sir."

* * *

**USS _Ra-Cailum_ - near saucer section shuttlebay**

* * *

Jessica finally exited the lift she had recently entered. The bay she emerged into was large, and she could see that her ship was still there, along with a shuttle of some kind. The vessel was shaped like a capsule of some kind, but with two smaller nacelles. It had a small entrance on the back and on the side was the ship's number. The color was white, a stark contrast to the dark grey and black coloring on her ship.

"Huh. Strange looking shuttlecraft," she muttered.

A warning klaxon was heard, and she heard the voice from before (likely something automated) say something about 'opening shuttlecraft bay doors'.

She looked around and her eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Thinking fast, she turned and ran for the nearest space, which just so happened to be a doorway leading into some sort of tube. She closed the door and stood there as something began to happen outside.

She didn't hear the characteristic sound of air rushing out, which confused her greatly. She opened the hatch, then saw the shuttle hover in the air for a moment before flying through the open bay doors, which had a blue light lining the hatch just before the doors began to close.

"What was that about?" she muttered.

She turned just as footsteps echoed, only to see another person enter the shuttle bay.

"Alright, prep the _Achilles_ for launch. Captain wants two relays: one on both ends. Get to work people!"

"Got it, Commander." Jessica spotted Sonja directing the team, getting another shuttle, this one more streamlined, ready for launch.

"Hey! Sonja!" she called.

Sonja glanced at Jessica and shook her head. "You know, I thought you would be in your quarters, reading up on the Federation."

"Sorry. I was too curious and wanted to explore. I kind of got lost and wound up here," Jessica admitted sheepishly. "I'll get to it later." Then she glanced around the shuttle bay. "What was happening here?"

"Captain Pinkerton wants a comm link with our people, and the best way to do that is to have two relays: one on our end, one on this end," Sonja explained.

"But why wasn't anything sucked out into space?" Jessica wondered. "I mean… I've been on ships where it's happened or where I triggered the opening of the hatch and was sucked out in my fighter, but… why didn't anything like that happen here?"

The engineer grinned. "Atmospheric force field: keeps the air in, but allows things to go out. Standard issue on all Federation starships."

"So that's what that blue light on the hatch is?" the fighter pilot asked.

"Force field emitters. The light shows that the field is active."

"Oh. I get it now." Jessica glanced back at the empty spot where the shuttles had been. "How many shuttles can this thing carry?" she asked.

"The _Ra-Cailum's_ got over 60 shuttles on board at the moment, but we can carry over a hundred if need be. We've also got three squadrons of Peregrine-Class fighters on board: Captain likes to be prepared to fight carriers," Sonja explained.

"So, in other words, prepared for almost anything, right?" Jessica asked.

"More or less. But this ship was made to encounter the unknown. Risk is our business, after all."

At that moment, warning klaxons went off. "All hands, stand to battle stations: repeat, yellow alert, stand by at battle stations. Unknown vessels approaching at transwarp."

"Dammit!" Jessica muttered. "I'm betting anything that it's more of the Separatists!"

"Let's get to the bridge: the Captain's going to need you there. After that, I'm heading to main engineering." She led her out of the shuttlebay, herding her into a lift. "This turbolift'll take you to anywhere on the ship as long as you tell it to. Just tell it to take you to the bridge."

Jessica nodded. "Thanks, Sonja." The lift doors closed and Jessica spoke to the computer. "Bridge."

The lift began to rise.

It didn't take her long to arrive at the bridge. The doors slid open and she stepped out into the bridge, noticing at once that it was bustling as crewmen went back and forth, getting ready for battle stations.

"How many contacts?" Ron asked.

"At least 6, maybe more, sir," someone said.

"Standby on phasers, load photon torpedo tubes on hot standby: let's try and talk our way out of this," Ron said.

The crew member he was speaking to nodded. "Aye, sir."

"Captain!" Jessica said. "What's happening?"

"Six ships are inbound at transwarp speed. No ID on them, but considering that we have almost no knowledge of this universe, that's par for the course," Ron told her.

"Maybe if you bring up a visual I can ID them for you," she offered. "I was on the move for the last five years, so I encountered all kinds of ships."

"Contacts dropping out of transwarp in 20 seconds!"

"Well, we're about to find out. Peregrine teams, standby to launch."

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

Jessica watched as the main monitor showed the fighters launching. They looked different from the shuttles she had seen, and were unlike her fighter in shape. Whereas her ship had straight wings, these had curved wings and lacked the rudder assembly. They possessed two nacelles and were clearly armed, but not as heavily as her ship.

The viewing screen then showed a small fleet of CIS warships, consisting of two _Lucrehulk-_class battleships, one _Munificent_-class frigate, and one _Subjugator_-class, along with numerous starfighters, each manned by a droid.

"Oh...shit…" Jessica whispered.

"Barry, tactical analysis," Ron ordered.

"Just like the last two ships we ran into: lots of low-powered disruptor cannons, minimal shielding. I think a photon torpedo or two would destroy them," Barry reported.

Ron nodded. "That's a last resort, and you know it. Open a channel to the lead vessel: let's take another stab at diplomacy before getting into another shooting match."

The man nodded and opened up the comm.

"Channel open, sir."

"This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton, commanding the USS _Ra-Cailum_. May I ask what it is you want and are doing here?" Ron asked.

"_This is the CIS vessel, the_ Rothram. I_ am the commanding officer of this fleet. Who I am is of no importance right now. All I know is that you have become involved in a major war. We are giving you a fair warning to retreat from our space at once, or be forced to suffer our wrath. We do not wish to do this, but orders are orders,_" the commander of the fleet said.

"Sir, if you have scanned my ship, you know I have more armament than all of your ships combined. I am more then willing to talk, and get a better understanding of the situation. Perhaps we can end your war without causing any more bloodshed on your respective parts."

"_I appreciate the offer. We cannot, unfortunately, end it. I am willing, however, to share the information you seek. Just be warned that it may not be what you want. And for the matter, there may be more at work than you realize. The young woman you have rescued from my fellow commanders has the information you need. Just be careful. There are shadows that lurk and sometimes shift, giving commands to those fighting the war._" The tone in the commander's voice was clearly sad, but the stuff he said was intriguing to the captain. "_I shall send you the data you requested. And your greater firepower may be just what is needed to end this war in the favor of those wanting a better hope for their futures._"

"Understood, Captain. Thank you for avoiding a battle that didn't need to be fought."

"_Not all of us are battle hungry, Mr. Pinkerton. Some of us wish to end this war, but we cannot without arousing suspicion in both parties. Particularly our enemy. Be careful. And use this data well. It may change the fate of the galaxy for the better._" The comm shut down and one of the consoles beeped, indicating that a data packet had been sent.

It was quite large for a data packet, but it was small enough to be stored in the database of the Ra-Cailum.

"Data received, sir. They're activating their transwarp drives and preparing to leave the area."

"That's unexpected of them," Jessica said. "But then again, I'm not that surprised."

"We have a lot more firepower than they do: they must've decided that discretion was the better part of valor." He looked at a woman with pointed ears wearing a blue version of the uniform.

"T'Lar, take a good long look at the packet." He tapped the badge on his left breast. "Sonja, get that relay set up ASAP: I need to talk to Starfleet Command about the situation."

"The Achilles is moving into position now, Captain. They'll deploy the relay in 30 seconds."

Jessica glanced at Ron. "So, when these relays go up, communications will be established, right?" she asked.

The captain nodded. "That's the general idea. I need to contact my superiors about this situation. Hopefully, the Federation Diplomatic Corps can help resolve this without causing more death on either side, and we might be able to set up some sort of trade agreement between our universes."

"Should be simple enough," Jessica remarked. "But something tells me that it may be a lot more difficult… Especially since something is brewing that could mean the end for my home organization."

Sonja contacted him at that point. "Captain, we have a connection to the Federation communications network."

"Very good: get me a link to Starbase 39-Sierra. I need to talk to Admiral T'Nae as soon as possible," the captain replied.

The officer in charge of the comm station nodded and went to work, typing in the commands and within a few minutes a screen came up, showing a logo Jessica had never seen before in her life. The name gave away which organization it belonged to.

She was about to meet one of those from the United Federation of Planets that led this man's forces.

A dark-skinned woman with the same pointed ears as the woman at the science station wearing a different uniform then the rest of the crew appeared on the viewscreen, clearly sitting at a desk. _"Captain Pinkerton. I assume you have something to report_?"

"Yes, ma'am. We found the contact that appeared on sensors: it's a kind of inter-universal rift." Ron began to relay the events of what happened, leaving nothing out.

Jessica watched as this happened, and at one point the woman wanted to talk to her. So when she began to speak, her body was shaking a bit. She was quite surprised by this. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time, so why was she acting like this now?

By the time the situation was explained, the Admiral(?) was studying them with a cool, calm gaze.

"_Captain, Starfleet regulations prevent us from giving any sort of material or military aid to either side in this war_," she said. "_However, we do have an opportunity to create a peace in that area. I will reroute several starships to secure the Hobus system, along with a construction team to build a permanent base of operations in that area_."

Ron nodded. "Understood, Admiral."

"_Your new mission is to head to the warring factions capital worlds and make contact with their leadership. We cannot afford to have a raiding force, no matter how so close to Federation and Klingon territory. We just came out of one war: we cannot afford to get involved in another bloody conflict so soon_."

"Understood, Admiral."

"_Starbase 39-Sierra out_." The screen returned to a starfield.

Jessica turned to face him. "So, now what?" she asked.

"We need a map of the galaxy and the location of those capital worlds. I hope you can provide them, young lady?"

She nodded. "Sure can. They're in my fighter's database. I can transfer them, if you want."

"Get it done." Ron sat back down in his chair. "Keep us at yellow alert: I don't want us to get shot at without the ability to shoot back."

Jessica turned and left, heading for the hangar bay where her fighter was stored.

It didn't take long for her to get in the cockpit and transfer the requested information to the ship's database. By the time she was done, she was getting tired. Her body was trying to tell her to go to sleep, but she forced herself to stay awake. She needed to be awake a bit longer to tell Ron the situation and then she could rest.

"We're going to need the specs for those transwarp drives, depending on where they are in relation to our location."

Jessica turned to meet Sonja looking back at her.

"Oh, Sonja!" Jessica hopped out of the cockpit and landed on her feet. "You want those specs? Well, I don't have them at this point. Sorry."

Sonja grunted once. "Well, shit. It's a good thing we scanned those ships from earlier: I might be able to juryrig something."

"Yeah. Anyway, when's the briefing? I can barely keep my eyes open and I need some rest. Four days on the move with little sleep is finally catching up to me…" Jessica yawned and stretched.

She felt something touch her neck, followed by a quiet hiss as she felt more awake. "What the-" She looked at Sonja, who held a kind of boxlike device in her hand. "Hypospray with a stimulant. You'll be awake for a few more hours."

"Thanks," Jessica said.

The download was finished in less than five minutes, and Sonja began uploading it into the Ra-Cailum's computers. "You get back to the bridge: Captain's going to want to debrief you before we jump into transwarp."

Jessica nodded. "Right."

She headed over to the lift. "Bridge."

The lift took her straight to the bridge and once the doors opened, she was met by Ron.

"Follow me." She followed Ron into a slightly curved room off the bridge. One side was devoted to what appeared to be a number of model ships encased in a glass cabinet and in the middle of the room was a large table with what appeared to be built in computers. A pair of windows showed the outside of space as they sped past countless stars.

Ron sat at the end of the table, clearly denoting his place as captain of the ship. "You're going to need to explain the whole story, miss. I suggest starting from the beginning."

She nodded. "Right. Well, to make it short, there's a war going on between my home organization, the Galactic Republic, and a group of separatists called the Confederation of Independent Systems. Both sides are practically matched, and so far, the Republic is holding its own. But lately something unusual has been happening, and my home planet was recently attacked because of something we found out five years ago.

"My mother was a commander in the Republican Army and my father was a Star Destroyer captain. My sister was a fighter pilot like me. Everyone was off world when the planet was attacked, so they were safe. But afterwards, we took what we knew and moved to an out of the way desert world that no one has really bothered about.

"My dad took his ship and went rogue, feeling it was best to fight both parties and try to figure out what the hell was going on. Same with my mom and sister. I was already on the move, feeling that it was too risky to stay in one place. I snagged a fighter and took off. Been on the move for five years now, going on six.

"But that's beside the point. The real matter is that I fear the Republic may be ending and that democracy will be overcome by tyranny one day. I've got evidence to prove it, but so far no one is willing to listen to me. My folks and sister knew, but they kept it hidden from even me until I discovered it myself." Jessica took in a breath and let it out.

"So far though no one in the Republic suspects a thing. But that may change as this war continues."

Ron smirked a bit. "Well, now there's a new player in this debacle: us."

"_Captain, this is Sonja: the location of both capital worlds are halfway across the galaxy from our position._"

"That makes things difficult," he mused.

"_Thankfully, I can modify the deflector to create something like the transwarp conduits the locals use to make the trip faster. I don't want to spend 80 years at high warp._"

Ron nodded. "Do it. And set a course for the Republic capital, all ahead full."

"Aye, sir."

The _Ra-Cailum's_ engines began to whine as power was sent directly to them. The next thing Jessica knew, the vessel lurched and she staggered. "Whoa!"

"Guess the IDF field needs to be calibrated for whatever you people use for FTL around here." The _Ra-Cailum_ was now inside hyperspace, although the crew of the ship didn't know it.

Jessica looked back. "So, now that we're en route, we need a plan."

"Plan is simple: arrive, hail the planetary defense force and tell them we mean no harm and are just there to talk."

She nodded. "Right." Although she had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

And she was right in more ways than one, even if she didn't know it at the time.

* * *

**Unknown location**

* * *

"_Anomaly detected: coordinates 35 by 154, Grid 648 Gamma. Scanning. Anomaly can be created by subspace disruption. Beginning_." A rift opened in front of the vessel, and it ended up in the other universe, same as the Ra-Cailum. "_A vessel has been detected: Bearing 048 Mark 055_." A vessel colored light grey with subtle yellow bow stripes emerged from subspace and hovered right in front of them.

"_Scanning communications systems. Match found. Engaging audio message. Prepare tractor emitters._" The voice of many beings echoed through the comm. "_We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your vessel. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile_." The Borg had arrived. And there was no one that could stop them.


	2. Encounters

Hey, peeps~! Ready for another chapter? Because this time things are about to heat up on both sides of the mirror!

**STAR WARS: FACETS**

**Chapter 2 - Meetings**

* * *

**USS **_**Ra-Cailum**_ **- enroute to Republic capital world Coruscant**

* * *

"I've figured out why they've got transwarp drives, but piss-poor weapons and shields."

Ron rounded the Master Systems Display console in Main Engineering as he listened to Sonja's technobabble-laiden explanation. "And?"

"They use something akin to a Romulan singularity core for a power source, using hypermatter, but they use it in an annihilation mode like our warp cores," she continued.

Ron knew what she meant by that. "Hypermatter doesn't generate enough power in an annihilation reaction like matter and antimatter. That's why we don't use hypermatter."

Sonja nodded. "They also lack an EPS network: they use a more archaic power distribution system." Electro-Plasma was the most efficient way to channel power from any power source: even the Borg used it.

The captain snorted. "They're wasting their power."

"Most of it's channeled to their transwarp systems, and whatever's left...weapons, life-support, shields-" Sonja was cut off by his remark.

"All of which are weakened because some idiot didn't think of using plasma," he added.

Sonja sighed. "I'm also seeing signs of stagnation when it comes to technological development: according to Jessica, everything seen here was made thousands of years ago."

"You're right on that one," Jessica said as she stepped into the room. "Some people have no idea that technology needs to advance."

"I think it's because they had access to transwarp technology in the first place. No need to improve if you can go across the galaxy in a matter of weeks rather than decades."

"Explains why they aren't using more modern disruptor weapons. All they have to do is add-" Ron shut his mouth. He couldn't say how to improve them around Jessica: the Prime Directive still applied. "Either way, we should be at that world, what'd you call it again?"

"Coruscant," she said.

"Thank you. We should be there in, what, 48 hours?" Ron looked at Sonja for confirmation.

"6, actually: I made several improvements to the field. More then enough time to make it there," the engineer replied.

"That's good then," Jessica said.

"I'm going to need more information on the Republic's military defenses at Coruscant, just in case we're forced to get into another shooting match. Which I want to avoid, but I won't surrender if fired upon."

* * *

**Coruscant - Jedi Temple - Council chambers**

* * *

The Jedi Temple chambers were busy as the Jedi Council sat around the main floor, on which Jedi Master Yoda stood. He stood at only 66 cms in height, but the wisdom he emitted was immense. He wore the standard Jedi robes, and his hunched form was not to be underestimated. Despite his advancing age, he was perhaps the greatest Master of them all when it came to the Force and lightsaber combat.

But he was far too disturbed by recent visions sent by the Force.

That was why he had called such a meeting of the Jedi Council.

"So you mean to say that there could be a _new_ war brewing?" one of the Jedi asked.

"Correct, Mace," he said. "Danger there is. Shadows lurking...disturbing visions, I have had."

"Any idea as to what this may mean?" Anakin Skywalker asked.

"Threat to the Republic, it is." The green-skinned Jedi began to speak, telling of what his visions foresaw, and of what he felt it meant.

Anakin listened, his eyes narrowing. Something did seem off, but as to what, he had no idea. The Force stirred in his mind, and his eyes closed as he heeded its sweet call and descended into meditation. Normally he wouldn't do such a thing, but something was telling him to do so.

And he himself was greeted by visions as well.

The first of these was a single ship that looked blurry. He could vaguely make out a shape, but that was all. It was grey, though, which indicated that it was a warship of some kind. A dark fighter was seen beside it, and behind both were more shapes of vessels. The scene shifted to another planet, this one far different from Coruscant, showing white, blue, and green colors. It was blurry, like the first. The images then changed to a scene of warfare, showing both ships from before, along with the same fleet, but this time engaged in fighting against what were no doubt Republican Star Destroyers, but lacking the usual colors. These ships were falling to the fleet from before, but their numbers were still large. The smaller ships were also taking losses. But what really stunned him was a sleek fighter that he recognized as his own.

The vision then ended and he snapped awake, only to get a glare from Yoda. "Fall asleep, you can't!" he scolded.

"It wasn't my fault, Master Yoda," Anakin said apologetically. "I...I kind of slipped into meditation and…" He hesitated, but Yoda sensed what he was thinking.

"Visions, you have had," he said.

The human nodded. "Yeah."

"Like mine, they were?" the Jedi asked.

Anakin nodded slowly.

"Unusual, this is. For all of us, yes. But for you, most of all," Yoda mused.

"So, what does this mean? That the war will come sooner than we think?" Mace Windu asked.

Yoda nodded. "Yes."

"But if that's the case, then why haven't we received word of this?" another Jedi asked.

"Because something is wrong. The ships I saw in my vision were of Republican design, but the colors were off. And the planet they were over was Coruscant," Anakin said.

Murmurs erupted amongst the Council, but Yoda managed to get them under control. "Not to mention that the fleet I saw had Jedi fighters amongst their ships," he continued. "And for that, it makes me wonder whether the future is going to be a better one, or a worse one considering the state of things as they are."

The Jedi Council, however, had no idea that the danger was even closer than they figured...

* * *

**USS **_**Ra-Cailum**_ **- ETA to Coruscant: 3 minutes, 22 seconds**

* * *

The ship was ready for combat, although they were hoping to avoid it as much as they could. All of the ship's shuttle and fighter pilots were ready to sortie, and security teams were armed with phaser rifles, (pulsewave, automatic and sniper variants) and the ship was put at combat readiness. Ron sat in his chair on the bridge, with Jessica sitting in the chair off to his left. Like all of the _Ra-Cailum's_ crew, he was armed, but with an older model 2293-era Type-2 phaser. "ETA to Coruscant?"

"Two minutes, sir."

Ron nodded his approval. "Open the shuttlebay doors the second we drop out of transwarp: all craft are ordered to launch," he said.

The crewman he was speaking to nodded. "Aye sir."

He glanced at Jessica. "Problem, miss Miller?"

"No. Not at all," she said. "Just wondering what I can do to help."

Ron nodded. "IDing the ships we run into would be a good start. Calling them 'Republic starships' would just be tiring and annoying after a while."

"Sir, we're arriving at the Coruscant system," Barry said.

"Drop us out of transwarp. Arm weapons, raise shields," Ron ordered.

The _Ra-Cailum_ exited hyperspace, and the crew was greeted with the sight of Coruscant.

The planet was unlike anything Ron had seen. There was no sign of any water or open land. It was like the planet was one giant city. The lights glistening gave it a sort of beautiful appeal though, especially when placed against the blackness of space.

"I'd be impressed, but we're not here to smell the roses. T'lar, anything on sensors?" he asked.

"Five ships are closing on our position, weapons armed and shields active. They are launching auxiliary craft: presumably fighters."

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Those are Republican starfighters. But I can't ID the class right now. I haven't seen it very often."

"Well, they don't change much of a chance against our shuttlecraft, let alone our Peregrine fighters."

"Capital ships in visual range."

"On screen." A number of large, roughly triangular in shape, appeared on the viewscreen.

"Star Destroyers. _Victory-_class. Very powerful and deadly. They may lack powerful shields and defensive armaments, but their armor is tough," Jessica relayed.

"She's right about the weapons, but their hull isn't that durable: it's made of some kind of hybridized steel alloy. Wouldn't last ten seconds against our phasers at one-quarter power."

Ron nodded. "Open a channel: let's try and talk them down."

Barry worked the controls, and opened a channel. "Channel is open." Ron sighed. "This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton, commanding the United Federation of Planets starship _Ra-Cailum_. We are not hostile. Repeat, we are not hostile." They weren't in the mood to listen, as low-powered disruptor fire impacted the shields. "Well, looks like I need to start weeding."

* * *

**Republican ship **_**Victory**_

* * *

The shields were clearly staying strong, the captain noted with astonishment. The ship was unlike anything he had seen before, but the fact that it was even coming this close was indicative of a hostile force of some kind.

"All ships, prepare to open fire with everything you've got! Missiles, turbolasers, anything! Take that ship down!" he ordered.

The command was acknowledged, and a furious barrage of laser fire interspersed with missiles came right at them. The impact struck the unknown vessel hard, and the light of the explosions was enough to blind their sensors. The captain narrowed his eyes, hoping to God that it had been destroyed.

But when the light faded, the vessel was still there. And it looked like it hadn't even gotten scratched.

The captain paled as he realized what this meant.

They were screwed.

"Oh, shit." The exotically shaped vessel returned fire with some kind of red-orange beam which hacked through the shields and blew through several sections of the hull. Another beam struck the 'conning tower', disabling the VSD and rendering it unable to fight.

The vessel's bridge was still intact, though. "Damage!" he snapped.

"Hull integrity is down by fifty percent, but all weapons are still operational!" the conning officer reported.

"Have all ships form up into a defensive line!" he snapped.

"Right!"

The _Righteous_ and the _Indomitable_ began to try and give the Victory cover, but the ship (which had identified itself as the _Ra-Cailum_) began to fire her strange beam weapons at the _Righteous_, disabling its' engines and forcing it into a spinning drift. "Our weapons have almost no effect on that damn thing's shields!"

"Keep firing! We have to stop it!" The _Victory_ fired off a large volley of proton torpedoes, all of which hit the _Ra-Cailum'_s dorsal shields.

* * *

**USS Ra-Cailum - main bridge**

* * *

A console exploded as the power overloaded and sent a Xindi-Primate backwards, knocking him into a railing and breaking several bones. "The fuck was that?!"

"Proton-based projectile weapons: not as powerful as our photon torpedoes, but it was powerful enough: shields are at 95% and I've got reports of injuries on Decks 3 and 7!"

Ron snarled. "That's it. Barry, the gloves come off. No one hurts my crew and gets away with it. Target that bastard: photon torpedoes, quarter-spread."

Barry obeyed the order, targeting the Victory with a spread of highly destructive photon torpedoes, which had more then enough power to destroy that ship with just one.

"Aye, sir. Torpedoes locked."

"Fire." The _Ra-Cailum_'s saucer-mounted forward dorsal launcher fired three red projectiles, known throughout the Milky Way as photon torpedoes, toward the damaged VSD, but one of the undamaged ships banked and used its' hulking form to take the hits. The 18.5 isoton weapons were overkill, turning the VSD into little more than a scrap metal-filled debris field.

"Didn't expect that one!" Jessica remarked.

The damaged ship turned and opened fire with its starboard side arsenal, and the _Ra-Cailum_ shuddered under the assault as the shields were struck.

Ron snarled. "Disable that thing's gun batteries. I don't want the ship destroyed."

Barry nodded. "Aye, sir. Firing phasers." The _Ra-Cailum_'s phaser arrays fired a long sweep of the side of the VSD, destroying several turbolaser turrets and disabling the rest.

"Enemy vessel is disabled. Third ship is breaking off," Barry relayed.

"They've learned their lesson: we've got more firepower than they do, and they don't want to get into a shooting match with us now that they've pissed me off," Ron remarked with a smirk.

An alarm blared from one of the consoles and the officer manning that console turned to face the captain. "Five more vessels closing: slightly smaller in mass, but of a similar configuration."

Jessica ran to the viewscreen and narrowed her eyes as she realized what those were. "They're cruisers!" she said.

"On screen." Five ships appeared on the screen, and Jessica quickly IDed their class. "_Venator_-class Star Destroyers. Powerful, heavily armed and just as armored."

Ron shot a glance at Barry. "Barry?"

"They've got more guns and slightly stronger shields, but they're no match for a fucking _Constitution_-Class from the 23rd Century, let alone a _Sovereign_-Class starship."

"Recall the auxiliary craft. I hope that these jackasses are ready to talk."

* * *

**RSD **_**Resolute**_ **- command bridge**

* * *

And they were ready.

The captain was clearly impressed by the newcomers' ability to fight back. But what really amazed him was the fact that they had been able to hold their own. Even so, there were still most ships that couldn't really outfight a Star Destroyer, let alone hold off three, disable one and destroy another.

"Open comm channels," he said.

"Right!" one of the officers said.

"This is Admiral Wullf Yularen of the Republic vessel _Resolute_ to the vessel identifying itself as the _Ra-Cailum_. Please respond."

A male voice responded his call. "_This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton, commanding the USS _Ra-Cailum_. I hope you're ready to talk instead of opening fire_."

"I am. I'm actually quite impressed to be honest. Not many can say they held their own against a Star Destroyer or three, even," he said. "And to be honest, I'm quite curious as to what world you originate from. Not many people have come this way ever since the war began."

The captain's voice held a tone of amusement. "_It's a complicated story, Admiral. Stand down from action stations on your end and I'll come aboard to explain. And if you even think of taking a few potshots at my ship, know that those photon torpedoes were just part of my ship's arsenal._"

"I'm more than willing to listen," the Admiral said. "And maybe I can see the man who stood his own against my fleet."

"_I'll be there in 10 minutes._ Ra-Cailum Actual _out_." Yularen looked at the closest clone officer. "Tell the rest of the fleet to stand down and make no aggressive action toward the _Ra-Cailum._ We have enough dead to count."

"Yes, Admiral."

* * *

**USS **_**Ra-Cailum**_ **- under saucer-mounted ventral torpedo launcher**

* * *

Ron led Jessica and a small security team into what Sonja had called the 'Captain's Yacht'. All carried phaser rifles and had some kind of device attached to their belts. "Alright, people, activate your personal shields and get ready for trouble. Under no circumstances are they allowed to board this ship. Am I clear?"

Everyone nodded. "Aye, sir!" they said.

Jessica nodded as well. "Understood!" she said.

Ron made his way to a seat with a control panel near a window, then began pressing buttons. "_Ra-Horakhty_ to bridge: we're ready for departure." "Copy, _Ra-Horakhty_: clear to launch."

Jessica felt the ship drop away from the _Ra-Cailum_, and the outboard nacelles moved to their downward position before Ron commanded the ship forward. A trio of fighters entered escort formation around the Ra-Horakhty, which Jessica IDed. "ARC-170 fighters. Considering the amount of firepower you seem to have, they're harmless."

Ron nodded. "I still don't want to take any chances."

"Good choice," Jessica remarked.

The _Ra-Horakhty _headed for the _Resolute_, whose hangar bay doors were open and ready to receive them. "_Resolute,_ this is the _Ra-Horakhty_: requesting clearance to land."

"_Clearance granted,_ Ra-Horakhty."

The yacht extended her landing struts and the nacelle pylons moved back to their upward position as the ship landed and the hangar bay doors closed. "Miss Miller, you're with me. Boys, if anyone tries to board this ship...kill them."

"Understood." one of the officers said.

Jessica nodded. "Right."

Ron walked toward the rear hatch, and exited the ship, followed by Jessica. Dozens of white-armored troops looked at the craft and the people walking out of the hatch.

"And in case you're wondering, those are clone troopers. The Republic has been using them to bolster the ranks of the armed forces, but they have their own personalities despite being clones. It's a way to make sure that no one race has too many lives lost," Jessica explained to a suspicious Ron. "The Separatists use droids, so it's kind of even in that regard."

"An army of clones. Sounds a lot like the Dominion."

Five clones marched toward them, one of them missing his helmet. "Captain, we've been ordered to escort you to the bridge."

Ron nodded. "Fine by me. Fair warning: try to board my ship, you'll pay for it in lives."

"We'll keep that in mind. Follow us."

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

* * *

The _Providence_-class carrier/destroyer stood no chance against the might of the Collective. Even a small Borg probe vessel was quickly disabling it, beaming over a small number of drones to prepare for assimilation. Despite the firepower that was thrown at the tiny rectangle, the vessel was still unable to fight. The captain of the vessel had no idea as to what was coming.

After all, none could resist the Borg. It was futile.

And futile it was. Already one part of the vessel was turning that signature black and green color as it was assimilated. Even the crew was beginning to become one with the might of the Collective. The power of the Borg was soon to be expanded into this new realm, a hint of the darkness that was slowly starting to stain the innocence of this galaxy.

The _Providence_ vessel continued to fight, but it was useless. Half the crew was fighting against the Borg as they invaded and the other half was either dying or being assimilated against their will. The one-sided battle continued until finally the last of the ship was merged into the Collective. As the ship left the system, the Borg presence left one last message. "_Resistance is futile._"

The probe docked with the former CIS ship, and accessed its' database. "_Accessing navigational data. Planet for assimilation targeted: local galactic coordinates 000. Number of lifeforms: one trillion. Activate transwarp drive_. _Prepare for assimilation_." The assimilated _Providence_-Class ship jumped into hyperspace, heading for a showdown over the most populated world in the galaxy...Coruscant.

* * *

**RSD **_**Resolute**_ **- bridge**

* * *

Ron had explained the situation to Yularen, including some information on the Federation and events on their side.

"I see." Yularen folded his arms. "So you hope to help us end this war and establish a trade agreement. Well, that's very admirable. But considering the state of things, I hardly think that the public will agree to a cease fire. But I will report this so our leaders can talk it over and maybe meet with you to work something out."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Fine by me. Anyone else I can speak with while I'm waiting for them to make their decision?"

Yularen smiled a bit. "Well, the Jedi Council might like to speak with you. They would be interested to hear more about your universe."

"Alright. I'll head back to my yacht and head back to my ship."

"The Jedi Temple's actually on the surface. I'll provide you with the coordinates." Yularen handed Ron a set of coordinates written on a piece of paper. "Just go there and they'll be waiting. I'll inform them of your arrival."

Ron glanced at Jessica. "If you want, you can go back to the _Ra-Cailum_."

"Nah. I'm coming. You'll need me to help get around the planet. I've been here a few times," she said.

Ron tapped his comm badge. "Pinkerton to _Ra-Horakhty_. Lock onto Ms. Miller and myself and transport us back."

"Wait, what do-" Both were caught in a certain of light, then they reappeared on the _Ra-Horakhty_.

"What _was_ that?!" she asked.

"Transporter. Basically, we were converted into energy, sent into a pattern buffer, then re-materialized here," Ron explained.

"Man… all this new tech is sure hard to get used to…" she muttered, but let it slide. After all, it was actually interesting, now that she thought about it.

"Get used to it. We've got a lot of technology that might be strange to you." Both reentered the cockpit, and Ron reactivated the impulse engines, retracted the landing struts and left the _Resolute_.

"Coruscant orbital control, this is the auxiliary craft _Ra-Horakhty,_ attached to the Federation starship _Ra-Cailum_: requesting flight clearance to the Jedi Temple."

"_Orbital control to_ Ra-Horakhty: _clearance granted. Be advised, due to wartime measures, there will be a fighter escort._"

Ron scoffed, but said nothing about the fighter escort. "Acknowledged, control."

The fighters that joined them were easily IDed by Jessica as the _Razor_ class. "That's the _Razor_ class of fighters. Very fast and agile in atmosphere." The ship was guided down by them past the security forces guarding orbit. The trip to the surface didn't take very long.

When they passed through the atmosphere, the planet's surface came into view as the clouds dissipated before their ship. Even now it still impressed Jessica. But she forced the thoughts from her mind. They had something to do.

"The entire planet can't be covered in buildings, can it? That's an ecological nightmare just waiting to happen," Ron remarked.

Jessica merely shrugged. "It's carefully regulated. There's the Jedi Temple."

An impressive ziggurat with five towering spires was directly in front of them now. "Certainly fits the term 'temple'." The _Ra-Horakhty_ sped toward the Temple.

It didn't take them long to find the landing pad. A Jedi envoy was there to greet them.

The _Ra-Horakhty_ came in for a landing. Once the ship was on the pad, the two humans stepped out and onto the landing pad.

"We have been expecting you," the envoy said. "I am to be your guide during your time here at the Temple."

"Well, fucking A. Well, I was told the Council might like to speak with me. Mind showing me the way?"

* * *

**Jedi Council Chambers**

* * *

The two were escorted into the chambers, and boy were they shocked. Well, more like awed in the case of Ron. Jessica...not so much.

The Jedi Council had turned out in full to meet the two. Every member that could make it came, and some that didn't were being kept informed of what was happening.

Jessica was surprised when one of them stepped forward to greet them.

"Welcome to Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic. And welcome to the Jedi Temple. Very few have the honor of even coming here," the man said.

"It's an honor to be here," Jessica said, collecting her thoughts and calming herself down.

"And you must be the captain who saved her, right?" the man asked, glancing at Ron.

"Ronald Pinkerton, captain of the _Ra-Cailum_ and the current local representative of the United Federation of Planets." He stuck out his hand. "It's a pleasure."

The man shook his hand. "Same here. I am Anakin Skywalker. We have been expecting to meet with you. But come. Let's talk about why you are here."

"Originally, my ship was answering a distress call from Miss Miller. We entered a rift, and we ended up here, in this universe. And after we learned about this war, I contacted my superiors. I'm here to help you talk your way to the end of this war," the captain said.

"I see," Anakin said. "Well, your efforts are appreciated. We could use all the help we can get, especially since there have been even more attacks lately. Regardless, although we tried the diplomatic approach before, it was turned down. Still, it never hurts to try again, right?"

Ron noded. "We have a large and dedicated diplomatic corps and they usually get the right results." They entered the council chambers, and were met with a large number of alien races. "Whoa. I haven't seen this many alien races since my time as an attache to the Federation Council."

"Yeah. We have a large number. Most of them are friendly, though," Anakin said. "This is the Jedi Council. They will want to hear a bit about where you came from. Most of them are interested in learning about this Federation," Anakin said as he joined another older man. "And this is Obi-Wan Kenobi, my Master and a friend."

"The pleasure is mine," Obi-wan said as he shook their hands. "Now, why don't we talk?"

* * *

**A few hours later**

* * *

Ron stood with Jessica and Anakin near the top of one of the spires, looking out over the city as the sun began to set. "I must admit, Captain. I wasn't expecting to learn about another organization similar to ours," he said as he looked at him. "But it is very interesting nonetheless. And maybe you can help us end this war."

"Unfortunately, we can't give you military assistance."

"I understand, although it would be appreciated if the negotiations don't go over well," Anakin remarked. "I was kind of hoping for that though."

Ron turned back to the sunset and sighed. "It's part of our rules and protocols: General Order One. 'It is forbidden to interfere in the development and affairs of another society, unless they are a member of the Federation or have requested assistance'. Problem is, there is one issue with the second one."

"Oh? What kind of issue?" Anakin asked.

"Warp drive. You have FTL technology, but you don't have warp drive, which would allow you to either join the Federation or request assistance."

"I see." Anakin looked back at the sun and joined the man beside him. He placed his hands on the railing of the balcony they were on. "But either way, any assistance in negotiations will prove useful. Even if they do go downhill, at least you'll have helped us make an attempt. That's all we can do at this point."

"Well, all I need to do now is contact the Confederacy's leadership and get us ready-"

"Ra-Cailum _to Pinkerton_."

Ron sighed before tapping his commbadge. "Pinkerton here."

"_Sir, someone calling himself Chancellor Palpatine is requesting to speak with you in person_."

Ron sighed. "Politicians. I'll go to his office, then. And get into standard orbit: the Jedi Council wants some of our historical and scientific database. Nothing too advanced."

"_Understood, Captain. _Ra-Cailum _out._"

"I'll take you to Palpatine," Anakin offered. "Besides, he'll want to know how the last mission I was on went."

"Thanks," Jessica said.

The Jedi smiled and guided them down to the landing pad. The ship they were to take was a small one, but it would do the job. They got in and Anakin told the pilot where to go. As the ship flew through the city's skyline, lights started to come on, adding a wonderful effect to the area as the sun started to dip beyond the buildings.

By the time they got there, it was half past nine according to Ron's watch. At least, on Earth time it was.

The building they arrived at was much bigger than the temple, and it was clearly of a curved half dome design. Other buildings surrounded it, making it seem like it was engulfed by them. Roadways led into it, meaning that it was the main building for everything that happened on this planet, and therefore in the Republic itself.

"Wow…" Jessica was shocked that they were being taken inside. While she had seen it, she had never been inside it at all. This was her first time, and she was a bit nervous, actually.

"Meh. I've seen more impressive buildings. The Xindi Council had theirs built into a cliffside, allowing them to see the outer reaches of the canyon. It was a hell of a lot smaller and a LOT less flashy."

"Ra-Cailum _to Pinkerton_."

Ron tapped the commbadge again. "Go ahead."

"_We're having trouble uplinking our computer core to the archives. Permission to send down an engineering team?_"

"Granted. Just don't spook them by beaming into the archives themselves."

"_Right_."

Once the speeder landed, the trio got out and started making their way through the building. Anakin explained a bit about its history and function as they made their way to the Chancellor's office. The journey took the trio another half hour, and by the time they reached his office it was close to ten at night Earth time.

The door slid open and they stepped inside.

Chancellor Palpatine was waiting for them himself.

"Ah. You must be the man who came from another universe, yes?" he asked as he extended his hand.

Ron grasped it. "Captain Ronald Pinkerton, of the Federation starship _Ra-Cailum_. I speak for the council of the United Federation of Planets when I say that I hope this will be a long and fruitful relationship between our two governments."

"As do I. I hope that you may be able to render assistance to help us win this war," Palpatine said. "I understand however that there may be certain complications regarding military assistance, are there?"

"Yes, there is. And I'm surprised you know about that: I only informed Master Skywalker here about the Prime Directive only a half hour ago."

"I have my ways, son," the Chancellor said with a smile. "But that aside, I am sorry to hear that you cannot provide any military assistance. Still, having you may allow us to try and negotiate an end to this war. The people are getting weary of this, and to be honest, so am I."

"Well, the Federation Diplomatic Corps would be more than happy to do just that. If not, I can always petition the Klingon High Council to do the fighting for you: they're always looking for someone that needs an asskicking."

"I appreciate your offer. I'll take it into consideration, although I highly doubt the Separatists will allow it to happen," the chancellor said seriously. "They are just too stubborn at times on this matter. They want to be independent, and they will stop at nothing to make it happen."

"Well, I'll need to-"

"Master, this is Ashoka." Anakin pulled out a small handheld communicator.

"What is it, Snips?"

"We're tied into the _Ra-Cailum_'s sensor systems, and we're picking up a ship in hyperspace heading toward the system." Palpatine looked at Ron, who simply shrugged. "We've got sensors. So?"

"We can't detect ships in hyperspace. We have to rely on intelligence reports for locations of ships in hyperspace," the chancellor said.

"I see." Anakin ignored the look on Palpatine's face. "What kind of ship is it?"

"Providence-_class, according to our database. Don't know why only one Separatist ship is inbound, but it's anything but good news_."

"Is there any reason it would be coming?" Jessica asked. She was getting a bad feeling at this point.

"Well, here's hoping that they're just here to tell you about their unfortunate encounter with us a few days ago, and are proposing an armistice to try and find out who we are. Make make my job a little easier." Ron gestured to the door. "Chancellor, perhaps you would like to take a trip to the _Ra-Cailum_? I can fly you up there using my Captain's Yacht." He glared at Anakin. "If the Jedi haven't tried to take it apart yet."

"I can assure you that no such thing has happened," Anakin said.

"It would be an honor to come up to your ship. I would like to see just what kind of ship you possess," Palpatine said.

"I may as well go along," Jessica said. "After all, I know my way around his ship fairly well."

"Alright then. So, anyone care to drive us back to the Temple?"

* * *

**USS **_**Ra-Cailum**_ **- geosynchronous orbit over the Jedi Temple, altitude of 6000 kilometers**

* * *

"ETA to that ship arriving?"

"Around two minutes, Commander." Sonja sat in the First Officer's chair on the bridge (the XO was on Earth and Ron didn't like people sitting in his chair while he was on duty) as they uploaded several teraquads of information (mostly historical, but some were scientific) into the Jedi Archives while watched over by no less than 15 Republic Star Destroyers, some being of the _Victory_-Class, others _Venator_, and two of the newest _Imperator_-Class ships above and below the _Ra-Cailum_. The _Imperators_ were a bigger threat than the rest, but still no match for the _Ra-Cailum_. "What's the status of the download?"

"53%. We should be at 60-" The tactical console beeped out a warning.

"Ship is dropping out of transwarp, approximately 20 thousand kilometers from the planet."

Sonja stood up. "On screen."

The ship that emerged was clearly a _Providence_-class all right, but there was something different about it that sent shivers down the backs of everyone there.

* * *

**Auxiliary craft **_**Ra-Horakhty**_

* * *

"My God…" Even Palpatine was shocked as he saw the relay from the _Ra-Cailum._ "What happened to that ship?" he murmured.

Anakin closed his eyes and reached out for the Force, trying to sense if anything was on board that black and green colored vessel.

His eyes snapped open as his Force sense was pushed back and he literally staggered back a few steps before raising a hand to his head, sweat running down his face. "There...There's something wrong with that ship…" he gasped. "It's...It's like it's...alive, but not." He looked up, his eyes hardening. "Whatever it is, it's clearly not friendly."

* * *

USS Ra-Cailum - bridge

* * *

"Commander, we're being hailed on all frequencies." Sonja wasn't liking this at all. "Open a channel."

Barry did so. They were greeted with voices they would've rather not heard. "_We are the Borg. Existence as you know it is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile._"

Sonja paled. "Oh, fuck. The Borg are here."

* * *

**Auxiliary craft **_**Ra-Horakhty**_

* * *

"Just what are these Borg?" Jessica asked.

"Apparently they are a hostile threat," Anakin said. "But if they could do that to a ship…"

Ron's eyes narrowed. "It's worse than that, Master Skywalker. The Borg are a collection of species taken from thousands of worlds and cybernetically enhanced, and linked to a hive mind. There is no free will in the Hive: only the Collective consciousness, and they seek other beings to further themselves to a state of...'perfection'."

"Sounds terrible," Palpatine said. "If there are such aliens, then we must have as much information about them as possible." He turned to Ron. "Did this...Directive...forbid you from informational assistance regarding military matters such as this?"

"I'll do one better." Ron opened a channel to the _Ra-Cailum_. "Sonja, do you read?"

"_I read you, boss._"

"Take that thing out! Weapons free!"

The Borg-assimilated vessel opened up on them as the _Ra-Cailum _dodged and let loose with her own firepower.

The former CIS warship's hull was still made of the same material, so phaser fire easily punched through it until it became less and less effective.

"What's going on? Why isn't it working?" Ron glanced at Skywalker's Padawan (roughly a Jedi trainee, as it had been explained to him) Ahsoka Tano. "The Borg have the ability to adapt to all types of weapons fire. A randomized rotating modulation is the only way energy weapons can hurt them."

"What about other weapons?" Anakin asked, his mind racing. "Like lightsabers."

"That's technically an energy weapon. The only thing the Borg can't seem to adapt to is projectile weapons," Ron said.

"Projectile weapons may seem to be our best bet, although we have none at the moment," Palpatine said. "On the other hand, we'll have to find some way to defeat them with what we have at hand."

"And are there any ways we can do that?" Ashoka asked.

Anakin frowned. "I highly doubt it. Especially since there seems to be…" His mind suddenly clicked as an idea came to him. He turned to Ron.

"Captain, just how are the Borg linked to one another?" he asked.

"Through a subspace-based communications system. It's regulated so that no drone regains its' sense of individuality back, and it's almost impossible to disrupt from the outside."

"What about the inside?" Anakin asked. "Can that be done?"

"If you're thinking of boarding that ship, think again. That thing is a threat to your galaxy. I cannot and will not allow it to survive." He guided the _Ra-Horakhty_ toward the _Ra-Cailum_. "Besides, I can't let you get your hands on Borg technology, either: Prime Directive and all that."

"I figured. But what I meant to ask is there a way we can disrupt it using other methods besides getting on board," the Jedi clarified.

"The best thing to do is get that ship away from Coruscant. Chancellor, can you order those ships of yours to try and draw it away?"

Palpatine nodded. "May I ask what you're planning?"

"Loathe as I want to...We're going to use tricobalt and quantum torpedoes to blow that thing to hell, and I want that ship as far from the planet as possible." The Yacht sped toward the _Ra-Cailum_, which was now moving toward the Borgified destroyer. "I think the _Ra-Cailum_ is going to need some help, and your ships don't have the adaptability or the firepower."

Palpatine seemed to grasp the danger and nodded. "Do what you must. We'll try and provide backup if we can."

Ron sighed. "I hate Borg. _Ra-Horakhty_ to _Ra-Cailum_: cancel docking operation. We'll harass the Borg ship from close up: give the bastard more than one target to shoot at."

**(BGM: Charge! from **_**Star Trek: Deep Space Nine**_**)**

The tiny yacht charged in, firing her phasers, damaging several assimilated turbolaser batteries along her port side. "Resetting weapons and shield frequencies. Arming photon torpedoes." The _Ra-Horakhty_'s forward launcher spat out two torpedoes, hitting the Borg destroyer's engine block and causing several engines to overload and detonate. Green disruptor beams, fired from newly-created weapons nodes, fired at the Captain's Yacht, but Ron's expert flying kept them from hitting the tiny craft. "Miss Miller, take weapons control! I can't fly and shoot at the same time!"

"Got it!" Jessica said.

She scrambled to the console for the weapons and grabbed them, taking control. She narrowed her eyes as a screen popped up, displaying the vessel and a targeting reticle. "Take this!" she shouted, firing deadly accurate shots at the Borgified vessel.

Her shots peppered the hull and took out a weapons node, but that was just a lucky shot. Either way, her accuracy was something Ron hadn't expected.

"_Ra-Horakhty_, this is RSD _Resolute_: we're moving in to support, Captain."

"Get them as far away from Coruscant as possible! Let the _Ra-Cailum_ take it out!" Turbolaser fire from the VSD peppered the hull, although some of the shots actually missed the ship itself, although it succeeded in drawing the Borg destroyer toward the VSD. "_Ra-Cailum_, target coordinates 567 by 789! FIRE!" The _Ra-Cailum_ showed off a torpedo launcher they had never seen: one right in the middle of the saucer section, opposite of the bridge. It fired off four blue balls of light, all of which hit the Borg destroyer, causing a massive explosion, but it didn't destroy the ship. "Tricobalt torpedoes, NOW!" Another launcher fired off a pair of slower projectiles, but the Borg ship jumped into transwarp before they could hit.

"Looks like they got away," Jessica mused.

"And things just got from bad to **really **fucking bad." Ron guided the yacht back to her docking port, and the _Sovereign_-Class ship turned back toward Coruscant.

* * *

**Palpatine's Office**

* * *

"So, let me understand. These Borg can assimilate anything they deem worthy?" Palpatine asked.

"Actually, if any species or technology catches their eye, if you will, they will send a message, usually something along the lines of 'You will become one with the Borg' and 'Resistance is Futile'. Then they'll lock onto a ship with a tractor beam and send over a boarding party to take the vessel by force." Ron sighed. "Chancellor, I'd rather explain this to your intelligence personnel, the Jedi Council and several of your senators all at once. Explaining it countless times is a pain in the ass. Besides, the Jedi Temple is better suited for this then this office: it's a bit...small."

"I understand. We'll meet there in the morning," Palpatine said with a nod.

Ron tapped his commbadge. "Pinkerton to _Ra-Cailum_: one to beam up." A shower of light surrounded Ron, surprising Palpatine greatly.

"What is this?" he asked.

But Ron couldn't answer the question: he was gone. The hidden Sith Lord was not liking this. If the Federation had technology like that, then they could reveal who he really was. And that was the last thing he needed.

* * *

**Next day - Jedi Temple - viewing chamber**

* * *

Republic military personnel, a number of Senators, the Jedi Council, several Jedi knights and their Padawans were seated in the chamber, where a number of Starfleet officers were busy setting something up. Two banners, one with the emblem of the Republic and one with the field of stars and laurel leaves that was the emblem of the United Federation of Planets. "Thank you for coming today. We are here to discuss a threat so great that you and the Confederacy will be forced to put your differences aside to face. They are called the Borg." Ron looked at Sonja, who pressed a few buttons on a Starfleet LCARS control panel. When nothing happened, she kicked it, and a holographic image of a galaxy appeared.

Murmurs of astonishment and awe filled the chambers. They had never even seen technology like this in their lives, let alone at all. Sure they had something similar, but nothing this advanced.

"Such advanced technology…" one Senator whispered.

"We don't even have anything like this!" another agreed.

"What matters right now is the defeat of these Borg," a Jedi said. "Although I do have to admit it is impressive…"

"Well, now that that is out of the way, the Borg dominate a section of our galaxy known as the Delta Quadrant." A large blob of red covered a large section of the galaxy map, followed by a symbol that looked like a red mechanical hand on a black background with yellow circuitry lines behind it.

"The Borg are a collection of races from hundreds of thousands of species, all forcibly linked into a collective consciousness that we call the Hive Mind. They are known as the Borg Collective." A holographic image of a being appeared, clad in some kind of black armor, missing an eye and having some sort of prosthetic put in its' place, and the left arm looked like it had been replaced as well. "The basic assimilation process is efficient, if brutal." The galaxy map faded, and was replaced with a corridor of a ship.

"That looks like the _Ra-Cailum_!" one of the Jedi remarked.

"It's one of her sister ships." Several Starfleet officers ducked into an access port (Jessica had learned they were called Jefferies Tubes) but one was grabbed by a Borg. The Borg drone held its hand close to the man who was terrified out of his mind. Two thin tubes shot out and injected themselves into his neck. His face contorted with the pain a bit before he was dropped. Already his skin was transforming into a sickly grey color as he lay there. The image panned over to a bald man wearing a vest leading several officers to another Jefferies Tube, clearly in command of the ship. "Here!" The officers jumped in, and the man nearly followed before he heard something. "Captain?" He looked at the officer who had been struck with the tubules. The image shifted to show the man, reaching out to his captain. "Help." Veins changed color as he vainly reached for his captain, begging for help. "Please, help." The man pointed his phaser at the officer and fired, ending his life.

"Is that what happens to those who are assimilated?" a horrified Senator asked.

"THAT was a mercy killing," Ron said. The image changed once more, and this time it was Main Engineering on a _Sovereign_-Class starship, clearly assimilated. Dozens of Borg drones walked around, performing tasks, including guiding newly assimilated Starfleet officers into the large room. Some had large implants attached to their faces and heads, and they were clearly beyond help. One woman was strapped to a table by a kind of head brace, as three Borg began operating on her, removing an eye and replacing it with a cybernetic one, removing the left forearm and replacing it a working prosthetic and placing the same black armor the rest of the Borg wore onto the new drone.

Several clone troopers looked sickened. Bail Organa nearly vomited while the more sensitive Padme Amidala actually did. "Wholly robbed of their individuality, the new drone takes commands only from the Collective." The sickening image changed to a large metal cube in space. "The Borg use starships of a geometric design, showing their monolithic mentality and pursuit of perfection." A slightly rectangular ship appeared in the cube's place. "The Borg probe is one of the smallest ships in the Collective's massive fleet, used for short-range recon and to assimilate small starships they encounter. Thankfully-" The probe's image faded, replaced with two ships: one a probe and one a ship clearly belonging to Starfleet and the Federation, followed by the probe exploding. "They're easily dealt with by our ships. The second most common ship in the Borg armada is the sphere." Another Borg ship, a sphere, appeared as a hologram. "Spheres are roughly 600 meters in diameter, although some are larger. They are not easily vanquished, but can be defeated by only one ship if the ship and crew are up to the task. Then there is the most dangerous Borg ships of them all: the cubes." A massive, clearly Borg, ship, shaped like a perfect cube, appeared. "Cubes are the largest and deadliest of the Borg's ships, with enough firepower to wipe out an entire planet's population and assimilate them. They are incredibly armed and armored, and will take a fleet of ships to destroy. They have an even deadlier version, as well."

"Then that means we'll be needing a lot more firepower than what we have at hand," Bail said seriously.

Padme nodded, still looking sick to her stomach.

"This brings up the more depressing part." The short in height but mighty in stature Grand Master Yoda, sitting in his hover-chair, furrowed his brow as he sensed the pain from Ron on the next subject. "The Borg tried to change history in 2373 Anno Domini, around 37 years ago. They sent a sphere back in time to stop First Contact-an important event in human history-which would allow them to assimilate Earth and humanity. Luckily they were stopped, but debris from the sphere landed in Earth's arctic region, and 89 years later, in 2152, a research team found the Borg bodies."

"What happened next?" Padme squeaked.

"The Borg revived and assimilated the research team, then hijacked their ship and began to assimilate it, as will. The _Enterprise NX-01_ was sent to stop them, and they did, but not before the Borg sent a message back to the Delta Quadrant."

"A dangerous threat, they are," Yoda sad grimly.

"Fast forward to late 2364, at the Romulan Neutral Zone: several outposts disappear, as if scooped off the surface of their respective worlds and asteroids. This happened on both sides of the Zone, forcing a confrontation between the _Enterprise_ and a Romulan _D'Deridex_-Class warbird."

"The _Enterprise_? She was in service for that long?" a trooper asked.

"Wrong ship: this was the _Galaxy_-Class ship, NCC-1701-D. A year later, the _Enterprise_ was flung 7000 lightyears by a nearly-all powerful entity known as Q, into the path of a cube. This was our first known encounter with the Borg. Q sent the _Enterprise_ back to Federation space, allowing them to warn Starfleet of the threat. Tactical exercises were planned and several new classes of starship were put on the drawing boards, including the _Sovereign_-Class. But it was too late." The hologram shifted once more, showing the bridge of a starship, with the same bald man from before, wearing a different, likely older uniform, standing between two consoles. "_Mister Worf, dispatch a subspace message to Admiral Hanson. We have engaged the Borg._" Ron sighed. "New Year's Eve, 2366. The Borg arrive in Federation space, and assimilate New Providence colony, followed by an engagement with the _Enterprise-D_. This ended with one of the greatest nightmares in Federation history."

The hologram shifted to show the inside of a Borg ship. four Starfleet officers were fighting off what seemed to be a horde of Borg drones, and finally, they saw the bald man once again, facing away from them. "_Jean-Luc_!" The man, now identified as Jean-Luc Picard, turned to face the Starfleet officers...only to reveal that he had been assimilated by the Borg, complete with a laser attached to his head. The crew's faces were filled with astonishment as they realized that he had been assimilated. One of them gaped in horror as one of the crew, an alien clad in a yellow uniform, walked forward and tried to get him out of a holding chamber, only to get thrown back by a forcefield of some kind.

"By the Force..." Obi-wan whispered.

Ron nodded sadly. "It gets worse, Master Obi-wan." The image changed again to the bridge of the _Enterprise-D_. Picard was on the screen, standing tall in his exoplating. His voice chilled all in the room, despite the recording happening decades before. "_I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service_ us."

"The voice of the Borg. For six days, Picard was the greatest threat the Federation had ever faced as the Borg disabled the Enterprise and set a course for Sector 001," Ron explained.

"What's so important about that?" Padme asked, her eyes wide and her hands shaking as she held them in front of her mouth.

"Sector 001 is the location of the Sol System, and more importantly...Earth. Capital of the Federation and homeworld of humanity." Shock went through the entire audience before Ron continued. "Starfleet mustered a fleet of 40 starships at Wolf 359, and what happened...The images will show everything."

The scene shifted to show a battle raging at the location named.

Ships were being slaughtered like lambs. Some were fighting back, others not so much. The Borg Cube at the center of them all was blasting them while some evaded and dodged using their smaller size to their advantage. Yet even then it wasn't enough. In effect, it was a one-sided battle.

Some ships had fires raging that were put out with no oxygen in space. Even so, the metal of them was warped and some were blown to bits already. No hope remained for those destroyed. A few tried to rally, but some were not so lucky.

One ship in particular was hit hard and the crew was forced to evacuate. During the whole time, though, the emotional feelings were high. The crew's feelings were easily conveyed through the image, even if the sound was muted to some degree. It felt wrong to have it heard like this. Maybe later, but not now. Yet the tears and crying, along with the actions, were what moved some of the Senators and other Republican officials to tears.

Padme in particular and Bail as well were moved.

"Is that what happened?" Bail whispered.

"39 starships destroyed, 11000 Starfleet personnel lost. There was only one ship that survived the encounter: the USS _Endeavour_, and that was only because her captain decided to run when the battle hit the fan." Ron shook his head. "No, not battle. A battle would mean they did something. This is something else entirely. Massacre."

The image changed to the _Enterprise-D_ fighting the Borg once more, including showing the ship separating. "The Enterprise crew recovered Picard, and used his link to activate an auto-destruct system on the cube. In case any of you are thinking 'hey, let's do that!', think again. The Borg have long since learned their lesson. But they weren't easily dissuaded from assimilating Earth."

The image changed once more.

"Fast forward to 2373." This time the screen showed a battle raging. The massive Cube in the center of the fleet was definitely a Borg Cube, and amidst the scene of carnage they could see a single fighter zipping and weaving, dodging Borg fire and returning fire with torpedoes and phasers. Other ships were trying to do the same, but they weren't as maneuverable or as agile as the smaller craft. The ships kept firing until something gleamed in the distance and another ship appeared: a _Sovereign-_Class assault cruiser. The battle began to take a turn for the worse for the Borg as all ships seemed to follow the ship's lead and blasted at a particular spot, leaving it wide open for a slew of quantum torpedoes to speed inside and destroy it from within.

"Whoa…" Anakin whispered.

Ron grinned. "It gets better. That ship?" The image paused and zoomed in on the ship's name and registry on the dorsal side of the saucer section. It read USS _Enterprise_, NCC-1701-E. "The name gets around. The Big E-D was destroyed in 2371, and the E-E was commissioned early the next year, under the same man's command. That man was Jean-Luc Picard, who was assimilated by the Borg and knew them almost intimately, allowing him to take out the cube." The image resumed, and a sphere launched from the cube as it exploded, and bypassed the entire fleet, pursued by the Enterprise-E. "The sphere went back in time, and that started the whole cycle all over again: the sphere was blown to hell, the E-E returned to 2373 and life went on, at least for another 5 years. In 2378, the USS _Voyager_ returned to the Alpha Quadrant, using technology from the future and using a Borg transwarp hub. Admiral Janeway, then a Captain, destroyed the network using transphasic torpedoes and a neurolithic pathogen, and the Borg were thought to be wiped out for 31 years. Then they came back and assimilated the Vega colony early last year."

"What happened then?" Palpatine asked in concern. "How did you stop them then?"

"We didn't. We've been pushing the Borg back out of known space, but with the war with the Klingons and incidents with the Romulan Star Empire, we've barely been doing the job. Problem is, now that the Borg have invaded this universe, you're going to have to put your differences aside, unless you want every planet in this galaxy to end up like Vega IX."

"Ra-Cailum _to Pinkerton_."

Ron tapped his commbadge. "Pinkerton."

"_We've detected three ships approaching Coruscant at transwarp: two Federation _Gallant-_Class escorts and a Klingon_ Vo'Quv-_Class carrier_."

Ron sighed. "Battle Group Omega must've sent them to support the _Ra-Cailum_." He glanced at Sonja. "Get everything back to the ship."

"I hope these guys are friendly…" Padme whispered as Bail nodded in agreement.

* * *

**USS **_**Ra-Cailum**_ **- Coruscant orbit**

* * *

_Captain's Log, USS _Ra-Cailum, _Stardate 87010.3: the arrival of three Battle Group Omega starships have unnerved the Republic forces, as the_ Ra-Cailum, _primarily an exploration vessel, disabled one of their most powerful ships. And I have informed them that the three ships are thoroughbred warships, making them more unnerved and uneasy. Starfleet Command has assigned me to make sure things run smoothly between Republic, CIS and TFO forces._

The ships came out of warp over the planet, right in front of the _Ra-Cailum_. Two of them were clearly Federation in design while the other one was of a type unknown to the Republic fleet gathered close by.

The latter, which was almost the same size as an ISD, Ron had IDed as the _Vo'Quv_-Class carrier IKS _Y'Bung_, under Brigadier General Guinlong of the Klingon Defense Force. Two _To'Duj_ fighters escorted a _Toron-_Class shuttle toward the surface, followed by two ARC-170 clone starfighters. Ron shook his head. "Mistake."

"What are they doing?" Jessica asked.

The two Klingon fighters quickly spun around, firing their disruptor cannons at the ARC-170s. Neither Republic ship stood a chance as they exploded. "Klingons don't like having escorts, especially inferior ones. They tolerate Federation ones because we have teeth. Republic ships don't."

"Oh boy…" Jessica whispered.

"Prep the _Ra-Horakhty_ for launch. I'll deal with the Klingons on the surface."

* * *

**Coruscant Senate building**

* * *

Palpatine was not expecting to see the vessel arrive without the ARC fighters. But most of all, he wasn't expecting them to make a beeline directly for the docking stations scattered around the massive structure.

Still, at least they had some means of intelligence regarding these guys.

The trio of ships landed at the docking station and the vessel's ramp began to lower.

The two fighters broke off as the shuttle landed, followed by the _Ra-Horakhty,_ which landed on an adjacent landing pad. Three men, all with ridged foreheads and wearing some kind of armor.

"And who might you be?" Palpatine asked, keeping himself composed even as he felt fear rushing through him.

The lead man scoffed as he looked at Palpatine. "I am Brigadier General Guinlong, Son of Yintagh, commander of the IKS _Y'Bung_ and leader in the Klingon Defense Force."

"And you have greatly insulted the Republic with your actions, General." Guinlong turned to face Ron, who had a look of contempt on his face. "You had your fighters shoot down the escorting ARC fighters. That insults the Republic."

"They were too weak to hold a Klingon warrior back, Pinkerton!" Ron marched toward Guinlong and punched the Klingon in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground.

"Don't do that again, General."

"Gentlemen, please, there is no need for violence!" Ron glanced at Palpatine before barking at him in another language.

Obi-Wan and Anakin shared a look that basically said 'WTF?' before the Klingon stood up and walked past, with his two escorts. "What was that about?"

"Klingons are a warrior race. I did what I did because that is their way. It was the Klingon version of demanding respect."

"I see," Anakin mused.

"You can't talk them down. You have to threaten them to make a Klingon stand down or fight him to gain their respect. I earned Guinlong's in battle by defeating the son of a bitch multiple times."

Ron marched into the Senate building, followed by the two Jedi. Inside, Guinlong was being led to a briefing room by Ahsoka and Palpatine. "Do you believe you can stop the Borg, General?"

"The Borg are soulless creatures that rob those of their honor. We will defeat them...in time," Guinlong said.

"That's good," Anakin said.

Ron nodded. "What the General will leave out is that the Borg have never targeted Qo'nos, the Klingon homeworld, for assimilation while the Borg have attempted invasions of Earth twice. And not because the Klingons are better warriors: they considered the Federation a **much **bigger threat." Guinlong said nothing, which more or less confirmed Ron's comment.

"Why was that?" Obi-wan asked.

"The Federation were the first Alpha Quadrant organization to encounter the Borg. They have more experience with them then the Empire." "Me more than most: I was involved in an operation to kick the Borg off of Defera, and I've been in no less than 20 different engagements with the Borg." Guinlong glared at Ron before continuing. "The Federation is highly adaptable, while the Empire, while mighty, is more inflexible. This is why the Federation is a bigger threat in the Borg's eyes."

"I see." Palpatine was slowly starting to understand how the Federation worked and why they were such a threat.

If that were the case, then he'd have to be extra careful if they ran into each other in the future. That also meant he'd have to be careful about his plans. In fact, this was perhaps the biggest wildcard of his plans.

Still, maybe he could use this to his advantage somehow.

The only question was how...


End file.
